This invention relates to a method of generating a computerized three dimension model of a shoe heel from a two dimension profile pattern, and thereafter following a method of deriving a two dimension pattern for the surfaces of a three dimension shoe heel model.
There has been a continuing problem with an acceptable procedure for applying covering material to the heels of footwear so that the heel surfaces to be covered present a smooth surface in the breast and back, and the patterns of material can be produced to obtain precise covering fits for the heel surfaces without unnecessary expense or waste of material for the surfaces to be covered.
A continuing problem is related to providing heel shapes for a given run of sizes of a particular shoe design so that progressive changes in shoe sizes can be accomodated with changes in the heel configuration and patterns for the covering materials.
It is recognized that in forming shoe heels in hand operations there is always the problem of inaccuracies in shaping the surfaces, and particularly is this evident in building a size run of heels for a particular design or configuration in the upper to be attached to the outsole and heel components. The shape and fit of heels for a run of sizes of the uppers is critical, and a reduction in the amount of hand work applied to the production of shoes, heels, and heel covers is a goal that has been hard to completely eliminate.
To overcome as much of the problem as is possible, the invention is directed to a method for building a shoe heel by starting with a selected toplift pattern, which is the heel top, and designating the geometric center of the pattern to rest on a three dimension (3D) center point, and then proceed with a method to digitize the heel profile pattern from that point.
In carrying out the method of the invention a table of values is needed to be entered in the heel building program so that the overall dimensions and shape configuration is understood to set the important perameters from which to work. In the following presentation of the invention two dimensional views will be indicated as 2D, and three dimensional views will be indicated as 3D.